Today, I experimented with making a poached egg for breakfast in the microwave. Using a recipe from Bon Appetit, I followed the directions to a T and the results were perfect. Silky smooth whites, a compact shape and a still-runny yolk, just the way I love them, especially on freshly buttered toast.
I have always been poached-egg challenged; the skillet method never worked right for me. Didn't want to fuss any more with getting the temperature just right and whether or not to add vinegar to the water.
So, here goes: For one perfectly poached egg,pour exactly 4 oz. of very cold water into an 8 oz. micro-safe bowl. (I used Pyrex.) Carefully break and slide in one cold whole egg until submerged. Cover with a micro-safe lid. (I used a saucer.)
Micro-cook on HIGH for exactly one minute. Remove from oven and keep covered, but not too long. The remaining heat of the water will continue to cook the egg.
Carefully slide out the poached egg with a slotted spoon. ENJOY!
Oh, boy! I'm going to try this as soon as I get a chance. I haven't had a good poached egg since my mother made them for me as a teenager----she could soft boil an egg too and serve it in the 1/2 shell. I've NEVER been able to do that!
Count me in! I love Eggs Benedict which is ~ when I think back ~ the only way I've eaten poached eggs although I used to enjoy 3 minute soft-boiled ones. Wow, guess time has flown but I want to experiment with aychihuahua's technique! So, besides on top of buttered toast, how to do the of you eat poached eggs?
I cannot imagine this working? The yolk has a "skin" like a balloon and will inflate when heated until it pops... all over the inside of your microwave!?! Pretty sure you'd need to poke the yolk, if only with a pin or toothpick, so the pressure will release.
Had 2 eggs in an egg coddler that my Dad had brought back from England... potential soft/hard cooked egg with no shell or poached without water. Fine china container with screw on metal lid that goes into simmering water... came it times to determine doneness. I like yolks runny but whites HAVE to be cooked thru. First time I used coddler, tossed boiling water BEFORE checking eggs, only to discover whites were still mostly CLEAR!! Since boiling water was already down drain, decided a minute or so in microwave would do the trick. In less than 30 seconds, BOTH eggs FLEW outta the container and splattered all over the inside of the microwave.
THINK I saw this on a Julia CHild rerun... she put eggs into rapidly boiling water for something like 10-15 seconds, then cracked into simmering water with a shot of vinegar... something about just that short time setting the whites a bit?!? Someplace else, somebody cracked eggs into little custard cups and poured a TBSP or so of vinegar right on top and let them sit awhile (can't remember how long). When slid into simmering, there was the vinegar already with them... and the whites almost instantly came together with very few of those little white bits floating around.
Posts: 5521 | Location: mount holly, NJ, USA | Registered: Sep 19, 2002
Cannot imagine this working? It did! Tried it again this morning for DH and myself: perfect. The recipe was on the Bon Appetit website, written by a chef who has used this method countless times in her restaurant.
I would love to explain why this works using the laws of applied physics and possibly chemistry, but that's way above my pay grade! (Plus, I was really rotten in those subjects.)
ETA: I am guessing, but the reason why the yolks don't explode is that the eggs are completely submerged in water.This message has been edited. Last edited by: aychihuahua,
Originally posted by thatchairlady: I cannot imagine this working? The yolk has a "skin" like a balloon and will inflate when heated until it pops... all over the inside of your microwave!?! Pretty sure you'd need to poke the yolk, if only with a pin or toothpick, so the pressure will release.
As aychichuahua mentioned the eggs are submerged in water and the container has a Lid on it.
Originally posted by aychihuahua: Cannot imagine this working? It did! Tried it again this morning for DH and myself: perfect. The recipe was on the Bon Appetit website, written by a chef who has used this method countless times in her restaurant.
I would love to explain why this works using the laws of applied physics and possibly chemistry, but that's way above my pay grade! (Plus, I was really rotten in those subjects.)
ETA: I am guessing, but the reason why the yolks don't explode is that the eggs are completely submerged in water.
I'm curious, were the eggs straight out of the fridge or room temperature? I would think a 38 degree egg yolk might be more likely to explode with the rapid temperature change. Unless of course you pierced the egg yolk twice with a toothpick to allow the steam to escape the yolk.
I tried this this morning and it did work. However the yolk of the egg was solid. So either I need to reduce the cooking time or the the microwave power. Mercedes, which would you suggest? Might try both.
Also if more than one egg is cooked at a time I can see that the time of one minute and setting of high would work, but it needs to be decreased for my microwave. One or the other.
I think the conditions (exact amount of water - cold water - cold egg)in the instructions that aychihuahua posted are carefully chosen to keep the egg yolk from getting hot enough to boil and then explode.
The comments do remind me of the time a coworker showed up one morning with a nasty burn on his upper lip. Seems his wife had made him an egg in the microwave and when he bit into it the thing exploded. (It didn't seem polite to ask why he hadn't used a fork or piece of toast or some such thing - probably a guy in a hurry to get out the door to the car pool - so I didn't ask.)
Martha
Helping to fight Alzheimer's one little quilt at a time. AAQI
Posts: 6840 | Location: Montana | Registered: Mar 25, 2005
Originally posted by lady of shallot: I tried this this morning and it did work. However the yolk of the egg was solid. So either I need to reduce the cooking time or the the microwave power. Mercedes, which would you suggest? Might try both.
Also if more than one egg is cooked at a time I can see that the time of one minute and setting of high would work, but it needs to be decreased for my microwave. One or the other.
Emily, you brought up a good point. Microwave wattages vary and the size of the egg probably makes a difference. I would first limit the cooking time before changing the power level. If you don't mind experimenting, try 40 sec. and then 45 or 50 sec. until it reaches your favorite consistency. Oh, and don't leave the egg in the hot water too long after cooking. (The eggs won't go to waste; you could always make egg salad.)
I'm curious, were the eggs straight out of the fridge or room temperature? I would think a 38 degree egg yolk might be more likely to explode with the rapid temperature change. Unless of course you pierced the egg yolk twice with a toothpick to allow the steam to escape the yolk.
Cold eggs completely submerged in very cold water is the secret. No need to puncture the yolk. The egg and water heat up slowly to prevent volcanic eruptions.
I have been following this and will try it soon, and there certainly can be a lot of variables.
Temperature of water to start (very cold, cold, tepid) as well as the power wattage of the microwave. If one finds a good match and produces a successful poached egg, I would jot it down, as it can be easily forgotten, (at least in my head).
I've made DH 2 poached eggs on toast every morning for the past 20 years or so.
I guess I'm just lucky in my method. I have a small saucepan with rapidly boiling water and NOTHING else, no vinegar etc. I crack the eggs onto a saucer and just slide them in when the toast is almost done. about the time the toast pops they are nearly ready. butter the toast and out they come, perfect.
I don't swirl the water, add vinegar, cover the pan or anything. perfect eggs every time.. although having one fall off the slotted spoon onto the floor is probably not the ideal way to serve them ..(happened yesterday morning)
Life is GOOD!!
Posts: 1348 | Location: Upstate NY | Registered: Nov 10, 2004
Reading glasses obviously needed CLEANING... totally missed the WATER in recipe!?! Will definitely try this... and then make nice batch of Hollandaise, if happy with results.
Posts: 5521 | Location: mount holly, NJ, USA | Registered: Sep 19, 2002
Originally posted by thatchairlady: Reading glasses obviously needed CLEANING... totally missed the WATER in recipe!?! Will definitely try this... and then make nice batch of Hollandaise, if happy with results.
Good luck! I can't wait to make Eggs Benedict this weekend.
I've got to try this. The only egg poaching I've ever done was with an insert in a pan of boiling water...and the egg was cracked into the indention.
From what I understand, it's not the temperature of the egg or the water that makes the yolk explode...it's the fat content of the yolk...NOPE I'm wrong! Imagine that!! LOL
I'm a BELIEVER!! Egg stayed perfectly round with no ragged edges. I always by XL/Jumbo eggs and NEXT time, might even cut a few seconds off the time for a dippier yolk. Heard a little popping during the one minute zap and fully expected to see the yolk splattered all over inside of lid, but it DIDN'T! Neat trick!
Posts: 5521 | Location: mount holly, NJ, USA | Registered: Sep 19, 2002
Originally posted by thatchairlady: I'm a BELIEVER!! Egg stayed perfectly round with no ragged edges. I always by XL/Jumbo eggs and NEXT time, might even cut a few seconds off the time for a dippier yolk. Heard a little popping during the one minute zap and fully expected to see the yolk splattered all over inside of lid, but it DIDN'T! Neat trick!
Glad you are all having good results. I feel like Alton Brown, because I am still experimenting in my kitchen "lab."
Today, I lowered the cooking time to 57 sec. and also added a teeny pinch of kosher salt to the cold water. Even better than before: runnier, the way I love them.
Took 3 eggs today for me to do it right. One minute resulted in a solid cooked yolk, no extra time in the water after MW. 40 seconds and the whites were still runny even after setting for 20 more seconds in the water. 50 seconds was close to perfect with setting in the water for extra 15 sec or so.
The dogs were thrilled with my errors, however.
Thanks aychihuahua, for posting this cooking method!
Okay, reading about everyone's results makes me want to try it, too, but as I posted above, the only poached eggs I've ever made have been for Eggs Benedict ~ too fancy for weekday mornings.
So, how do you all eat them besides placed on a piece of buttered toast?
I just had to give this a try too! Complete success!
The only problem I had was I didn't know what to cook it in. Yesterday I made some microwave minute rice and for some reason kept the plastic container. It worked perfectly. Just the right depth to submerge the egg. Enjoyed it so much I went out and bought english muffins for tomorrow. Thanks OP!
My second attempt was also a bust. 45 then 50 seconds did not do it. White was runny. Tomorrow I will try 60 seconds again and yank it out of the water.
So, how do you all eat them besides placed on a piece of buttered toast?
Here's what I like to do: substitute a poached egg for however you like fried eggs. So, put them on corned beef hash or on a thick juicy hamburger a la Holstein.
A poached egg on buttered steamed white rice is a sublime treat, especially when the yolk runs out. (My favorite comfort food.) Similarly, poached eggs and hot buttered grits, with lots of fresh ground pepper.
